Tag Archives: Michael Jackson A Magical Life

“Sorrow fully accepted brings its own gifts. For there is alchemy in sorrow. It can be transmitted into wisdom which, if it does not bring joy, can yet bring happiness.”

Pearl S. Buck

“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.”

Zora Neale Hurston

~HAN…a state of mind, state of soul, a sadness so deep no tears will come and yet still there’s hope~

MAGICAL LIFE AWARD~ First Award~ May 1, 2002

Nominees: First Lady Laura Bush

US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State Colin Powell

Talk Show Host Oprah Winfrey

Recording Artist Michael Jackson

~an honor given to an individual that has demonstrated the true humanitarian service, peace, love, and happiness characterized by the Magic of Children…and in doing so, has helped make the world a kinder and gentler place. Nominations based on the record of each nominees’ service to children~

Final Results announced May 1, 2002 New York City

“It was up to the citizens of the world, especially our children, to confirm who is deserving of this honor. This makes The Magical Life Award truly unique in that it is an award from the hearts of children and those adults who still have the heart of a child. When given the opportunity to vote for the person that inspired them the most to stay in touch with the magic of their inner child, thousands of children from around the world voted for Michael Jackson.”

WINNER: MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Jackson never chose the comfort of a failed role. With a pulsating energy that infuses all life, chosen by God as a receptacle of grace, he believed in the curative powers of love. The electricity of his talent provided a prism through which we view ourselves. When Natalie Barney said, “Sensuality, wanting a religion, invented love,” her words aptly described Michael Jackson. Echoing our origins, with a marvelous power that embraced the forming of bonds creating attachment one to another, he defined for us everyday epiphanies. Passion became a person. Evidence of things unseen proved substance for our hopes…with dreams never deferred nor denied. “A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it’s built for,” Einstein’s words apply to Michael’s show that never ends, with a bravery speaking out and taking the heat. An artist’s job is to captivate us for however long our attention is held. But, that is not the complete measure of the Michael Jackson experience. Jung tells us that creative minds play with what they love. Schreiner asks into how little space can a human soul be crushed? With overwhelming force, Michael Jackson showed us the things we can do. With frailties, flaws and foibles, we stand against the fault line that seeks to guarantee our failure, drawn into Michael’s radiant light, we are loved into full being. Each day we resist captivity with awakened powers. “Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life. It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands. It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own. Faith becomes a teacher in the absence of fact.” Terry Tempest Williams explains our spirit of revolt. Surviving means being born over and over again. Through Michael we reach for something better. Claiming the events of his life, peeling away the layers of complicated artistry, we join him in service at a loftier level.

“Michael had a unique place in the world. He not only did good, but taught others how to do the same. Michael wanted to help people see the problems that are destroying our world. That’s what he was about and what his upcoming shows were about. He was trying to teach through lyrics, video, and performance. He wanted to use every part of himself to show us what we are capable of becoming. His goal was to demonstrate to people that if we all just try to make our world a better place, it will be. Michael did charity work all of his life…since we first started performing as the Jackson 5. He quickly learned talent alone means nothing. It’s what you do with it that really matters. What are you doing to make things better for other people? In grasping this, Michael found his purpose…entertain and educate at the same time. Michael grew to understand why the world is in the state it is. He would ask WHY, but not get trapped in trying to find reasons for each and every problem. His aim was finding SOLUTIONS. His message was about SOLUTIONS. Michael’s day-to-day thought process was: How do I make the world a better place. He dedicated his existence to responding to this question and to giving voice to those who can’t speak for themselves. If someone is hungry, give them food…but also help them become self-sufficient. Michael taught us when you do good you start with an individual, then move onto a family, a neighborhood, a village, a nation.”

Jermaine Jackson

Innovation is enormously liberating. Michael’s capacity for a challenge was limitless. Scheduled only by destiny, his beating pulse echoed around the globe. As one who when seeing a burning building, runs into the fire to rescue others, Michael’s artistic catalog defines the 80/20 rule…we of the 80 stand up for the 20. His work excites us, moves us to tears, makes the blood rush to our heads…our souls sigh. Like no other artist before or since, his mark on the world of entertainment introduced new language to the conversation. We are captivated, instructed, inspired, empowered.

“Nowhere will his contribution be more obvious and his influence more strongly felt than in the world of dance. No choreographer of the last 30 years has been unaware of Jackson’s achievement. He rewrote the vocabulary of dance for everyone, from kids competing in talent shows to royal ballets of Europe. If the dance establishment did not often acknowledge his influence, it was because there was no need. His shapes, his moves were everywhere. Nijinsky and Nureyev also died young. They, too, were transcendent dancing boys, but chose to interpret the choreography supplied to them. By contrast, Michael Jackson’s art was astonishingly innovative.No one could dance like him until he showed them how…and then, they were never as good as he was. His concept of the dance was utterly 20th century, extravagantly multi-dimensional. Nijinsky may have been the greatest Spectre de la Rose, Nureyev, the greatest Corsair, but these 2 candles pale in the light of Jackson’s blazing star. The surprise is not that we have lost him, but that we ever had him at all.”

Germaine Greer Writer and Art Critic

In a world that is often a part of the dumbing down, cut and paste cycles of the day, Michael Jackson appeals to our intelligence. Our consciences grow under his tutorials of love. Never accepting a “duck and cover” mentality, he told truth to power. Undeterred by greed and bullying agenda, understanding that the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place…knowing that he must lead, he warned us against feeding the hand that bites us…those who create the crisis of the hour. His values, what he devoutly believed in, didn’t shift with threatening winds. His professional ethics, his intensely driven work, his pioneering spirit in all levels of artistry, and his fierce belief in what we can achieve together, provide continuous threads of revelation…pivotal to all.

“I think he was an angel sent to us, and I think we might have to reflect on how well we took care of him. People say that the people around him were bad and they didn’t do right by him…but, I think it’s a collective too, because I can’t remember the last time or any other artist who attracted so much energy and projected that much power…that was that creative and affected so many people…was such a diplomat for America and such a champion of the American culture and African-American people worldwide. People wanted to move to America because of Michael Jackson. Industry changed, the music industry changed due to Michael Jackson. That is a gift to us…and, I’m concerned that maybe the Good Lord may not send another one, because we didn’t take good care of Michael.”

Wesley Snipes

“Everything is made of the past, even the future.” Natalie Barney’s words ring in our ears. Destiny was revealed in one that was born to win, one who made the invisible visible. We are prompted to ponder the possibilities in our own glorious moments. Michael taught us that there are moral imperatives: abolish discrimination in our hearts and minds, the truth is our salvation, without faith we are lost, LOVE is the answer.

~LOVE AND HUGS ARE FREE~

~More people need to be grateful~

MANIKGANJ 2000 Documentary Film Making…”What music do you play during weddings here? Without batting an eyelid, the old bearded gentleman in a white Kurta replied…’We play the music of Michael Jackson.’ Michael Jackson was so popular in Bangladesh that he had been dubbed in Bengali. Not only had MJ crossed continents and captured the imaginations of the people of the cities of South Africa, he had also been locally packaged to add value to the regional imagination. MJ had become a symbol of what global satellite TV could produce. Yes, indeed, MJ did more than come to Manikganj…he ruled over the hearts and minds of the people in Manikganj. And indeed, the rest of Bangladesh and all of South Africa.”